When you first think of the person who is trying to obtain a fake identification card (ID), your mind might jump to a 19-year-old who wants an ID showing they’re above the age of 21 so they can get into a bar with their friends. And you wouldn’t be wrong–some reports show that 69% of college students surveyed have owned or used a fake ID at some point.
While this is certainly an illegal activity that comes with a long list of consequences for perpetrators, there are other, more insidious reasons why criminals want to get their hands on a good fake ID.
One reason is to engage in synthetic fraud, which is a type of identity theft where a fraudster uses a combination of both stolen and fictitious personal information to create a brand-new identity. For instance, maybe they’ll steal one person’s Social Security number, someone else’s home address, and come up with a fake name to create a synthetic identity.
Getting a fake ID with all of this information helps to legitimize their new, false identity and support their fraudulent schemes–like applying for credit cards, loans, or other financial accounts. In fact, a report our team put together earlier this year highlights the fact that 55% of businesses in the United States say they received the submission of fake or modified physical documents in 2023.
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